Dolphins steal Game 1 away from Uni-Bikers
by Jonas Terrado
Dolphins 4, Uni-Bikers 3
Down by three runs and six outs away from a defeat, the Cebu Dolphins pulled through down the stretch to stun the Dumaguete Uni-Bikers, 4-3, in Game 1 of the Baseball Philippines Championship Series at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
With the bases loaded, a bouncer by Jonard Pareja sailed past the gloves of Uni-Bikers’ third baseman Kelly Culubong that scored Jonash Ponce with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Dolphins an improbable win.
Prior to the winning run, Ponce was able to draw a walk against a nervous 16-year old reliever Justin Payongayong, reached second on a bunt by Carlo Conge, then hustled to third on a passed ball to Richard Leonor before Joseph Orillana was given an intentional walk to set up the wild finish.
The victory enabled Cebu to take a 1-0 series lead and could clinch its second title in history with a victory on Sunday.
And for Cebu team manager Saki Bacarisas, he wasn’t concern about his team trailing early.
“We made some bad baserunning moves because Dumaguete scored first,” said Bacarisas in Filipino. “But then, it’s not like a basketball game where you can kill time so we kept our composure and made a run at it.”
With Dumaguete starter Darwin dela Calzada out, the Dolphins peppered reliever Lito Pulgo, also the team’s manager, with three runs in the eighth inning off two walks and two errors that evened the score.
One of those errors came from second baseman Denver Largo when a short groundball bounced off his glove and into the air, allowing Orillana to touch home for the tying run.
It was a disappointing setback for the Uni-Bikers, which are aiming to end their 2008 Cinderella campaign on a winning note.
Dumaguete committed seven errors, four of which came in the last two innings. And for Pulgo, he offered no excuse for the loss.
“When I pitched in place of Darwin, Cebu scored because we made some errors but it happens,” Pulgo said in Filipino after the game.
And the three runs they scored in the first inning came to waste.
Andro Cuyugan touched home first on a fielding error before Culubong, also the team’s assistant manager, crushed a two-RBI single that pushed home his uncle Bambol Servo and Edmer del Socorro home.
But it was a quiet afternoon for the Uni-Bikers since as Orillana settled down with four scoreless innings before he was replaced by a young Sebastian Uichico in the sixth frame.
Uichico, though, managed to shut down Dumaguete with three no-hits innings before Orillana resumed his pitching role in the ninth.
The Dolphins nearly lost the game in the top of the ninth, when Conge bobbled an easy flyball by del Socorro to right field with no outs. However, Orillana settled down by fanning Kiko Ramos and Culubong before retiring Saxon Omandac on an easy flyout to first baseman Jeffrey Ardio.
Orillana pitched six combined innings, striking out three and yielding only four hits and a walk to earn the win.
Bacarisas was impressed with the effort of his two hurlers.
“Joseph delivered for us after a shaky start, that’s why I pitched him for five innings just in case he is needed,” said Bacarisas. “Sebastian also pitched well, he kept Dumaguete from scoring another run.”
Dela Calzada, coming off a complete-game, eight-strikeout outing in Dumaguete’s semifinal-clinching win over the Forward Taguig Patriots last Sunday, did not allow the Dolphins to score a run in six innings while giving up five hits and two walks.
But with the Uni-Bikers holding the lead and with dela Calzada reaching the maximum limit of six innings for a pitcher to be eligible for the next game, Pulgo put himself in to preserve the former UAAP Most Valuable Player.
“We were supposed to have him pitch the whole game but since we were leading, we kept him out so that he can still play for Game 2,” Pulgo said.
No team in the history of Baseball Philippines has won a championship game after losing Game 1, but no team also won the crown via a sweep of the best-of-three series.
Pulgo allowed four hits and three runs in two innings of work while Payongayong was saddled with the loss.
Jeffrey Ardio and Fongs Rances got two hits apiece to lead Cebu’s nine-hit effort.